Wireless computing technologies provide untethered access to the Internet and other networks. One of the most critical technologies for wireless networking (or Wi-Fi) is the IEEE 802.11 family of protocols promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Currently, the ever-improving protocols are widely adopted in wireless devices such as laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones, and network appliances. A new innovation in the Wave 2 version of IEEE 802.11ac allows multiple users to simultaneously connect in parallel with a MIMO radio.
Wireless devices complying with standards such as IEEE 802.11 have control over how a connection to a wireless network is made. Namely, a wireless device selects an access point among a number of access points within range that have sent out beacons advertising a presence. The beacon includes a BSSID (Basic Service Set IDentifier) as an identifier of the access point. In turn, the wireless device sends data packets which include the BSSID of the intended access point. Access points receiving a transmission intended for a different access point, as determined by the BSSID, merely ignore the data packets.
Problematically, wireless devices act in self-interest and without consideration for burdens or capabilities of an access point or other components in a wireless network, or other conditions affecting the wireless network. In fact, wireless devices, being unaware of network conditions, can also make a connection against their own best interest when a more capable access point is within range and available. Ultimately, the lack of information given to a decision-making device is an inherent weakness of IEEE 802.11 and other network protocols.
Installing a client or app to execute on a wireless device is not always a desirable solution. For instance, guests connecting to a public hot spot for only one time would be burdened with the process of downloading and installing a client. Furthermore, many computer users are weary about malicious applications downloaded from the Internet. Finally, the client is another background process consuming processing and memory availability of wireless devices.
Furthermore, access points having new capabilities under the Wave 2 version of the IEEE 802.11 ac standard are backwards compatible with the Wave 1 version of IEEE 802.11ac. The Wave 2 standard allows multiple users to simultaneously connect with a MIMO radio of an access point in a parallel manner as an improvement over the Wave 1 standard which serves a single user with the MIMO radio in a series manner.
Unfortunately, when a self-interested wireless device operating under Wave 1 transmits through an access point, the access point reverts to Wave 1 operation. Consequently, other Wave 2 capable wireless devices have to wait until the Wave 1 wireless device is no longer transmitting or receiving in order for the access point to return to Wave 2 operations, or for a turn in line under continued Wave 1 operations. This problem will continue as long as wireless devices having capabilities under Wave 1 devices and Wave 2 are autonomously connecting to access points having capabilities under Wave 1 and Wave 2.
What is needed is a technique to optimize Wave 2 MU-MIMO (multiple user-multiple input/multiple output) communication by steering autonomous network devices to connect with preferred radios and access points based on capabilities of network components. Further, the technique should be adaptable to be implemented from an access point in communication with wireless devices, or from an access point level in communication with other access points, or from a controller level in communication with a plurality of access points.